Floating Clouds
by honeybunnay
Summary: The Fourth Shinobi War has finally ended and everyone is still trying to piece together their lives and learn how to live normally again. For Hanare that's wandering from village to village exploring the world and for Kakashi that's accepting his new role as the Hokage. However, their paths cross and they meet again.
1. Chapter 1

Chap 1

Staring blankly at the wooden wall across from her Hanare couldn't help but exhale a soft sigh, as she pushed herself from her seated position to stand up. She never did like mornings.

She scrambled across her little apartment in search of the music sheets she needed for her class today. After that incident with the Hidden Leaf Village and a certain silver haired ninja she had broken ties with her village and had been accustomed to travelling around the world. This was something she had dreamt of doing ever since she was a young girl, wanting to escape the strict confines of her village which denied her any access to the outside world. She made ends meet by completing simple tasks from village to village such as waitressing, cleaning, and performing her shamisen at festivals. She was able to utilize her espionage skills effectively to disguise herself in order to ensure that ninjas from foreign villages would not detect her.

She enjoyed her time on the road as she was able to experience things she had only dreamt of in her childhood. The constant chatter that was around her, along with the aromas of various foods street vendors were trying to sell, all of that evoked a new sensation in her, it was as if she were floating on cloud nine. Her senses had never experienced such a relaxed freedom before. However, there did exist those moments where she felt numbness in her heart at having to spend so much time on her own, not having any real friends or family to turn to.

When her thoughts did consume her they were always riddled with recreated scenarios of what occurred on that day atop the cliff. What if Kakashi's little squad of genin caught up to them and persuaded their sensei to let her stay. She imagined that the little blonde haired boy named Naruto would have definitely begged his sensei to let her stay in the village. Then maybe she wouldn't have to wake up so grumpy every morning, because she would know that she did not have to worry about being ambushed or caught by the enemy because she was surrounded by people she trusted and who would protect her. There was also the possibility of love blossoming in the Hidden Leaf Village, as her mind would then wander off to the tall team 7 leader Kakashi, who was shrouded by a mysterious aura and had a wall surrounding his heart higher and tougher than hers. She would have never thought that her petty crush from childhood would continue on even into her mid-twenties. She had only ever met the man twice and yet she could not fight the uncontrollable blush that made its way to her cheeks and her erratic heart beats every time she made eye contact with him.

She couldn't help but utter another sigh this time louder and more forced. Hanare scolded herself for allowing her mind to wander, Kakashi may have settled down and started his own family by now. He was also Hokage now, he would have no interest in a girl like her he'd most likely had married some noble princess by now. Despite his loner personality and masked appearance anyone could tell he was handsome. He had a lean and muscled figure and even though the mask prevented others from seeing his face one could tell that he possessed high cheekbones, and a sharp jaw line judging from how his mask fit with his face. She had heard words floating around from village to village about his heroic deeds in the Fourth Great Ninja war, as the Third Division Commander, so it was no surprise that women would swoon and the masked appearance only made him more alluring. Hanare couldn't help but grumble at the thought of Kakashi and another woman and slammed her apartment door behind her.

Walking down the village streets Hanare soaked up the sun's ray and exhaled loudly in delight. Shamisen strapped to her back and clutching her music sheets she made her way to the school. She would occasionally smile and greet the other villagers she crossed paths with. Although the war was over she could still feel the after effects, as villages tried to rebuild themselves economically, and socially. As a result, she had decided to stay in this quaint village on the outskirts of the Land of Fire, helping teach the local children. Many of the children were war orphans who had sought refuge in the village. Hanare couldn't help but grimace at those unfortunate children who had to lose their parents to a cruel war, considering she herself grew up without the love of a mother or father. That may be possibly why she decided to stay in such a banal village and took up a position teaching.

By the time she reached the entrance of the school she was greeted by the smiling faces of many of her students. She in turn greeted them warmly and gathered them into the building. It wasn't anything just a simple wooden house converted into a school with the rooms containing desks and drawings made by the students. Morning lesson had passed by in a breeze and now it was time for lunch she and her accompanying teachers were now supervising the children who were playing under the bright sun.

"Not a cloud in the sky, huh?" Megumi uttered whilst munching on a rice ball. Hanare followed her line of sight and looked up to the sky and it was true the clouds were missing.

Still staring at the clouds Hanare muttered, "Such a shame I really like clouds." She looked away in an attempt to get invading thoughts of Kakashi out of her mind and turned towards Megumi who was now staring at her curiously. Megumi then smiled slyly at her before latching onto Hanare's arm, "well, well, well lovely little Hanare is blushing madly," she leaned into Hanare's ear and whispered, "are these thoughts of a man?"

Hanare quickly jumped back feeling her face flushing and turning beet red. She vehemently shook her head trying to shake off Megumi's suspicions. Megumi simply replied, "just warning you Hanare us girls aren't getting any younger, and you're so pretty, any guy would want to be with you." Hanare couldn't help but stare in envy at the engagement ring adorning Megumi's finger. Megumi knew what Hanare was staring at and patted her on the back in comfort.

By late afternoon, classes had finished and it was just Megumi and Hanare who occupied the classroom and were doing some last minute clean up and lesson planning.

Megumi suddenly called out to Hanare, "Hey Hanare," Hanare looked up at Megumi expectantly. "A messenger ninja dropped by from Konoha and they were wondering if any students who possessed chakra wanted to go train there."

"On whose orders?" Hanare enquired cautiously, there were still a few bandit ninja roaming around targeting small villages.

"The Hokage, of course" Megumi scurried around her desk and picked up a scroll passing it to her. Hanare read the contents of the scroll in curiosity and Megumi was right it was an official letter from Konoha stating that the village would offer ninja training to children who possessed chakra. At the end of the scroll was Kakashi's signature.

"I'm guessing they would make such a request, considering most of the small village schools would have been destroyed." Hanare hypothesized and Megumi nodded in agreement.

"Do the kids know?" Hanare inquired shifting her gaze from the scroll to Megumi. She shook her head, "Not yet, I want to tell them tomorrow."

She continued, "some of them don't have any parents and are free to choose whether or not they wish to take this opportunity, and I was wondering if I could ask a favor." Hanare's brows furrowed, looking at Megumi's who looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I know your nature and how you don't stay in one place for long, so I was wondering if you could depart with the kids to Konoha."

Hanare was taken aback she didn't know how to respond to such a request. But it was true Megumi must have sensed that Hanare felt that she was over-extending her stay in the little village and would leave soon to another place. Hanare had always made her intentions to leave known to Megumi. But still to take on a request such as this would be out of her character, once Hanare left a place all ties she made from that place would be severed in order for her to start fresh somewhere else.

"I know it's a lot, but the children have become really accustomed to you and it would break their hearts just to see you go," Megumi began to sniffle, "so, it would be easier if you left with a proper reason that the children would be able to comprehend, besides a Leaf ninja will be assisting you in taking the kids there as well."

The tears were now flowing freely on Megumi's face. Hanare knew that it pained Megumi just thinking about departing from the children and breaking their friendship. However, Megumi was right it would be selfish of Hanare to leave the children behind without a proper reason. She stared at the scroll that lay discarded on the desk and made up her mind.

"I guess it can't be helped," Hanare said, "I'll leave the village with the children who wish to become ninjas."

Through tear filled eyes Megumi muttered a soft thank you to Hanare. Hanare's heart was gloomy at having to leave her dear friend, but it was bound to happen anyway. She looked out the window in hopes of spotting clouds to calm her down and over in the distance was a lone cloud, that looked like a dog. Hanare couldn't help but smile a little.


	2. Chapter 2

Chap 2

Strumming her fingers rapidly on the wooden desk Hanare was getting impatient, the children wouldn't be flooding into class for another two hours. She had spent all of last night tossing restlessly around her bed, in a futile attempt to calm her nerves and get some sleep. She had given up all attempts at sleep and decided to lay on her bed staring blankly at the ceiling. She had every right to be restless considering in a couple of hours she would be leaving the village she had been living in for the past couple of months to a place that held a lot of memories to her and would cause her to address some personal issues of her own. .

What's more there was still the possibility that she would have to leave with some children. She was certain that there would be a handful of her students who would take up the opportunity to leave the village and undertake ninja training.

She stifled out a loud groan and rested her head on the wooden surface childishly kicking her feet outwards. Although being an adult meant being responsible Hanare did not wish to be responsible for children on a journey. Such a thing was foreign to her, for years she was only responsible for herself and did not bother to care for the wellbeing of others. She stared out the window dreading the day ahead and basked in the silence of the usually vivacious classroom.

Kakashi hummed to himself as he made his way to his office. He couldn't help but ponder on the fact that he was to be seated on the Hokage chair, as the Hokage. He was so used to entering the Hokage office and facing someone and have someone give orders to him. Now that the roles were reversed and he would be the one giving out orders he felt a little insecure.

He knew the roles and responsibility that entailed with being the Hokage and knew that he would be able to handle the work load, but he was still so overwhelmed by it all. During his time in office he had to ensure that the new found peace in all the lands be maintained along with the friendly relations. He couldn't help but let out a soft sigh in defeat, it was only morning and he already felt defeated. He stopped in front of the Hokage office and hesitated before opening the door and entering. Walking in he noticed a very grumpy Naruto and couldn't help but let out another sigh, anticipating the lecture he would receive.

"Sensei! You're Hokage now you can't be late, you know" he shouted pointing a finger accusingly at his former Sensei's face, whilst Sakura tried to lower his arm eventually resulting in injuring Naruto who wouldn't comply.

Kakashi waved him off and sat down on the Hokage in an attempt to get comfortable. "An elderly woman needed help with her groceries and being the good Samaritan I am I helped her out."

Before Naruto could call him out on his obvious bluff a messenger ninja had barged in through the doors.

"Hokage sir, I have messages from the smaller villages who are willing to transfer children to the academy" Kakashi nodded in politeness and bid the ninja off after he received the scrolls. Once the messenger ninja left he shifted his full attention to his beloved students.

"As you can see I have a lot of paperwork I must complete," he gestured towards the scrolls and various stacks of papers littering his desk, "what brings you here?"

Naruto slammed his fist on the desk in rage, Kakashi didn't flinch expecting this reaction from him. "You know exactly what I want!" he exclaimed, "I'm just itching for a mission and you know it!" Unbelievable Kakashi thought, while most people were taking it easy and enjoying the peace Naruto the one who put in the most effort still wanted to fight.

He continued to hammer on, "I expect a B-class mission or above Sensei"

"Now, now Naruto I have a variety of missions here for you around the village," before Naruto could protest knowing that those missions would only be D-class Kakashi quickly interjected, "the villagers would love to see your face around town, and for you to leave for a mission would upset them and I wouldn't be able to treat you to some ramen because you'd be away." Naruto had succumbed to Kakashi's words and accepted assuring him to keep his promise regarding the free ramen and dashed outside.

This time he had to deal with Sakura before starting on his paperwork. Judging from the blush adorning her cheeks Kakashi had a pretty clear idea what her enquiry was about. He gave a slight nod showcasing to her that he would hear what she had to say.

"Sensei, I was wondering if you heard anything from Sasuke?" she enquired with hope in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Sakura, I haven't received anything yet," she broke her eye contact with him and was now staring at the ground with her head hung low, "I'm sure that if he were to contact anyone it would be you first rather than me." He assured her in an attempt to make her feel better. This managed to make her feel better and she too bid him farewell.

Kakashi finally relaxed, he could now tend to the piles of paperwork that had been beckoning him since he walked into his office this morning. Right before he was about to delve into his paperwork the door to his office had opened and he had to suppress his frustration. He felt a vein in his neck bulge, as he looked up to see who was paying him a visit. Looking up he was graced with the presence of the village elders, who were most likely going to complain about him. Not necessarily criticism regarding his policies or how he ran the village whether it be hard or soft power it was rather about his appearance, personality or personal life. He wondered which one it would be today, as he stood up to greet them.

"What brings you here today on this fine morning?" he asked the elders who plopped themselves down on the couch.

They examined him as if wondering which out of the above mentioned three they would pick on him about.

A question was asked which he had never heard before, "You're in your thirties now, isn't that right?" He nodded wondering why they asked about his age.

"Has the prospect of marriage ever reached your mind?" He internally groaned, not this talk again.

He smiled at the elders, "My work has always been my number one priority, I never really put any thought into marriage,"

They pondered his answer for a while. Kakashi was getting nervous he didn't want to be forced or pressured into marriage, he wanted things to flow naturally and be put into place. Fate should never be tampered with he concluded.

"Well Kakashi, we suggest you find a wife and settle down." He felt the vein in his neck pulsating in annoyance they continued, "as you may know the war has altered the life expectancy and birth rates of our village, and we feel that if the villagers see the Hokage living happily with a wife and possibly children it may influence them to start their own families."

Kakashi nodded pretending to take in their words, "I see, I will at least try to actively look for a wife then." The elders nodded in approval, "Is there anything else you would like to discuss with me?" There wasn't any and he bid the elders off.

Once the door to his office shut, Kakashi slammed his head down on the desk he just couldn't catch a break. The words marriage floated around in his head, it was such a foreign concept to him he didn't know how to comprehend such a word. He was so pre-occupied with his work that the thought of dating and getting into a relationship never crossed his mind. There was the occasional fling every now and again but there was nothing emotional attached, it was simply all physical.

He closed his eyes trying to calm his mind. Dark green hair and a pair of chocolate brown eyes crossed through his mind and he opened his eyes in shock. She was definitely a ghost from the past he thought. She definitely was a beautiful woman and he liked her honest character remembering the way she confessed her feelings about her love for Konoha and that she would never betray the village despite not possessing any connections to it. However, she was rather foolish and naive to betray her village and let her feelings overcome her but then again that would have contrasted well with his serious and by-the-book attitude. What's more her curiosity and fascination to the village only made her cuter and appealing in his eyes. He let go of any thoughts of her, she had most likely forgotten about him and was moving on with her life. There was no point in him pondering the past and he finally started with his paperwork.


	3. Chapter 3

As the sun was beginning to rise in the sky, the students began to filter in to the classroom chattering and filling the once empty classroom with sound. Hanare attempted to greet them all warmly in order to mask the panic bubbling inside her. Megumi had joined her too and was fidgeting with her nails most likely feeling the same panic she was about to address the students about the topic of departing with each other. Once every student was seated in their respective seats Hanare stood up and was ready to address the class.

"Good morning class," she said cheerfully the class followed and repeated what she said dragging out the 's' sound. She took a deep breath getting ready to address them, "I have something to address to you all, I will be leaving you all very soon."

Once her words settled in their ears the class had erupted and were expressing their shock at her sudden absence, Hanare knew she shouldn't feel shocked considering this is what she was anticipating since last night but it still hit her pretty badly. Various sounds and voices were reverberating off the walls and hitting Hanare's ears making it difficult for her to hear and causing her to develop a slight headache. Megumi had now stepped up from her silent seated position next to Hanare and quickly hit the top of her desk in an attempt to shock the class into silence…it worked.

Hanare coughed a couple of times in order to clear her throat before continuing, "I understand that you all are shocked, however this is something I need to do based off of the Hokage's orders," the children were now all attentively listening to her, some of their eyes were glistening, "I understand that there are those of you who possess chakra and have the ability to control and weave it, thus the Hokage has sent out a request to those of you who are interested to move to Konoha and study at the ninja academy there."

Before she could continue a student quickly raised their hand and spoke, it was Rei a white-haired girl who was very shy, "Hanare-sensei, I don't understand why that means you have to move away from us," her eyes were very glassy now, "aren't you happy being with us?" Hanare felt her chest constrict tightly and she looked over at the now gloomy faces of her students and she turned away in guilt, she had never thought that her future absence would cause this much sadness.

"It's just that I still need to sort things out with my life…kind of like adult things…you'll understand when you're older," she balled her hands into fists, her excuse was definitely not believable or understandable but she continued, "however, if any of you do wish to attend the academy in Konoha I will escort you there,"

There was silence across the classroom and Hanare felt that this was an awful way to start the day. The faces of her usually joyful students were now sunken and sullen, they looked as if she had just told them Santa, and the Easter Bunny weren't t real.

After what felt like an eternity of thick silence a handful of students put their hands up indicating to Hanare that they wished to move to Konoha with her, one of those students was Rei which shocked her a little bit. Rei was always the kind of student who was shy and honestly someone who wouldn't make it as a ninja. She was just too sensitive. Hanare nodded her head doing a quick head count on the students who would be leaving with her, there were about eight in total four girls and four boys and they were all orphans.

"First thing at the crack of dawn you all meet me at the village entrance and we leave," she tried to mask her emotions and continued, "say your goodbyes to everyone tonight, as you may never see them again." Saying that sentence seemed like a gunshot to all their hearts including hers and she balled her hands into fists, she wouldn't let these kids see her break down, she wouldn't show them any weakness because that would cause them to grow weak.

After her proclamation the whole day passed by in a blur where she tried to do her best comforting the children about her sudden departure with the help of Megumi. Some of the children seemed to have recovered from the initial shock rather quickly and had taken to making farewell cards for each other. Megumi couldn't help but smile broadly at such purity and innocence displayed by these children who had promised each other that they would always be together no matter what. They had then bombarded Hanare with hugs and were clinging on to her for dear life as if wanting to remember what she felt like. Hanare figured that it was useless to fight against them and her emotions and accepted the love they showered her with.

* * *

 **Hello my lovelies!**

 **Yes, I have finally updated in what feels like forever, I'm not going to lie I still do not know where I am going with this story and I am just writing whenever the inspiration hits me. Anyway I have also revised the first two chapters and fixed up the horrendous grammar mistakes made. I have a somewhat vague idea on what i want featured in the next chapter and I hope to have it released in about two weeks time, please keep leaving me with feedback and your thoughts.**

 **Regards**

 **Honeybunnay :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Just like that the day had already ended, too quickly in Hanare's opinion. She was seated at her desk staring outside as the sun set coating the sky and turning it into a marvellous shade of bright orange. Pulling her gaze away from the sky and her thoughtless musings she shifted her gaze to the interior of the quant classroom she had grown to love. She looked around carefully examining every single nook and cranny of the area in an attempt to solidify the image of the classroom in her brain permanently.

She peered down below her at the stack of handmade cards her students had written for her, she couldn't fight the smile that made its way to her face. She had still yet to read the cards, but didn't want to in front of the children for fear of breaking down in tears and turning into an emotional mess.

She huffed to herself all her years of espionage training and experience and she had still yet to master the art of suppressing her emotions. At the mere thought of her past life as a ninja she experienced instant flashbacks of her time in Konoha with Kakashi and she couldn't help but smile again, maybe the ninja life just wasn't for her considering she completely failed that mission she was given.

She let her mind wander again to thoughts of Kakashi, she really was curious to know of his wellbeing now. Did he still read those bizarre books? Did he still keep most of his face covered by that mask of his? Did he still have those three precious genin of his follow him around 24/7 and spy on him? Was he married? Is his wife pretty? Is she someone who is actually good at her job and doesn't screw up missions then evade all chances of emotional attachment? Hanare grumbled to herself and placed her head against the desk letting herself wallow away in self-pity. What a stupid girl she was allowing her thoughts to wander…again. In an attempt to get her mind of him she decided to read the letters the children had left for her.

She smiled broadly reading all of the letters from the kids, they were all etched with stick figure pictures of her and them enjoying themselves on a sunny day. There were pictures of rainbows and love hearts of different shapes, sizes and colours. All of the cards were marked with the same words of 'we will miss you', however she grimaced at a few of the cards and what was written on them. Despite her students being rather young they knew that Hanare had been single ever since she began teaching at the school and that she had never once shown interest in any man in the village or fellow ninja passing by. As a result, written in a few of the cards were sentences such as 'we hope you get married soon' and some very cheeky students writing 'teacher please get married soon, you're getting old!'. She felt a vein in her neck pulse at how devious some of her students were, but she still smiled, they were just showing their concern in their own innocent way.

Once she had tied up any loose ends remaining in the classroom she decided to make her way back to her tiny little room in order to prepare for her departure. By the time she had left the school building the sky was pitch black save for a few stars twinkling rather dully.

She couldn't sleep, instead she had spent the night tossing and turning. In spite of her constantly telling herself that she was ready to move on from the village and the school she knew she wasn't. Part of the reason being that her next destination would be in a place she tried to suppressed, where a certain someone dear to her is and that person being someone she didn't want to face. She didn't want to face him out of fear that meeting him would make her realise just how far time has passed, for fear that she would finally see how big the distance between him and her finally was. She groaned to herself and smacked her head against her pillow in frustration. With the way she was smacking her head onto things lately she would develop wrinkles sooner than she would like.

Before she could even attempt to try and get some sleep there was a soft knock on her door. Curious at who it might be she quickly scrambled to the door and opened it ever so slightly. There in front of her was a ninja who looked no older than thirteen, she could tell from the distinct leaf pattern on his headband that he was from the Konoha.

There was an awkward silence between them before the young shinobi spoke, "Excuse me, but are you Miss Hanare?"

Hanare quickly composed herself and silently nodded. The shinobi continued, "Well, I'm sorry if I disrupted your sleep but we're the ninjas from Konoha who are supposed to escort you and the children to the academy."

Upon hearing and comprehending what the young shinobi said Hanare gasped and pulled back the curtains of her window and was shocked to see the sun was already peaking, she was late. She quickly uttered a string of apologies and quickly collected her already packed bag and shamisen and followed the young shinobi to the village entrance.

Her students were already there waiting for her along with three other ninjas, two were about the same age as the one who she had first met and the other one was taller and older she was able to deduce that he was their sensei. Once she was face to face with everyone she quickly bowed and apologised profusely for her tardiness. She was forgiven rather quickly and they made their way to Konoha.

They had been on the road now for a couple of hours and the closer they got to the village the more nervous Hanare became. She had yet to mentally to prepare herself if she were to meet Kakashi. She was pulled out of her musings when she felt a tap on her shoulder she turned around and noticed that it was the ninja from earlier who had knocked on her door. He had introduced himself to her already along with the rest of his team and the one talking to her now was Konohamaru. It seemed he wanted to create idle chat in order to pass the time.

"So, Miss Hanare have you ever visited Konoha before?" she contemplated his answer and considering whether or not she should lie through her teeth or tell him the truth. She replied, "once but it was a long time ago,"

Konohamaru snorted, "C'mon you sound like an old lady it can't be _that_ long since you last visited, you look like you can't be that much older than Naruto Uzumaki the great hero of the war!"

"I'm flattered by your words but I am old, the last time I entered Konoha the Third Hokage was still in power," there was an immediate silence from Konohamaru after she spoke and his eyes were no longer fixated on her, but at the ground.

He finally spoke, "The Third Hokage was my grandfather, and someone dear to my heart" Hanare attempted to comfort him, "I'm sorry if mentioning him brought back any unwanted memories." He quickly dismissed and told her that she caused no trouble.

"You know we have a new Hokage now!" Hanare feigned innocence and pretended to act surprised, Konohamaru continued, "yeah, his name is Kakashi Hatake and he's really awesome, one of the most elite ninjas the Leaf Village has."

Hanare decided to use this opportunity to gather intel on Kakashi, "Oh really? He sounds like a pretty busy man then."

"Yeah he is, he's always out on meetings and he still goes off on missions," Konohamaru continued, "the elders are actually really annoyed by how busy he is."

Hanare turned to him and raised an eyebrow in confusion why would a Hokage doing his job frustrate the village elders? Konohamaru seemed to sense her confusion and spoke, "I heard it's because they want him to settle down and marry someone, but he's purposely keeping himself busy to avoid their pestering,"

Just like that Hanare's concerns that he had finally settled down with someone else and started a family were laid to rest. To be honest she didn't know if she should've felt happy or worried.

* * *

 **Hello everyone,**

 **I'm back with another chapter that is a bit more lengthier than the previous one. I do apologise if their are any grammatical or spelling errors, i just really wanted to upload this chapter before reading it over. Anyway i hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and do please share your thoughts with me because I'm really struggling with inspiration on where this story should be headed. In addition, I really need your comments to help me out to figure out whether or not this story actually is engaging and if i should even attempt to continue on with it or not.**

 **Honeybunnay**


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